


We Were Different People Back Then

by TomatoBookworm



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bus Kids - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Not-a-love-triangle, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Season 1, Time Travel, Very minor mention of background Philinda, mention of canon character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-15 06:18:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16057277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBookworm/pseuds/TomatoBookworm
Summary: Jemma was exhausted. She had been searching for Fitz for so long. Now there he was, half hidden in shadows but unmistakably him and *alive*. Before she could think about it, she ran and kissed him.Fitz was grumpy. An abandoned lighthouse wasn’t the worst field assignment he could think of, but he was hungry. He turned as he heard Simmons’ footsteps. Wait, did she go back to the Bus and change? Before he could say anything, she ran up to him and then Jemma Simmons was kissing him.Simmons was surprised, upset, and confused. She had lost sight of Fitz for one moment while discussing something with Skye, and she walked into the hallway to find some strange woman all smooched up to him. And he, he was kissing back! Now the woman even dared to move her hand to Fitz’s bum. “You take your hands off him!”





	1. Jemma

**Author's Note:**

> Mention of canon character death. Canon compliant except for one detail in season 5 finale.

“Jemma, are you sure about this?” Daisy asked for the third time as she paced around the lab.

 

“The science is perfectly sound,” Jemma replied without looking up from her notes. Normally she would have found Daisy’s incessant footsteps annoying, but the lab already felt too empty and she couldn’t afford to be distracted by silence. “I’ve based the calculations on the machine we saw in the future, modified the power source to compensate for the smaller fragment size, and adjusted the frequencies to make a shorter time jump. Really, it should be quite safe.”

 

“I am not talking about the science part,” Daisy sighed. “None of us understands it anyway. We just trust you if you say it will work. I am talking about the fact that you are going to let a monolith suck you in, for the _fourth_ time. Why don’t you let one of us go through it instead?”

 

“Oh don’t worry about me, Daisy,” Jemma answered lightly. “The white monolith only transports through time and not space. This will be nothing like my time on Maveth. I should come out in the Lighthouse, just few months back in time. Things would hardly look any different.”

 

“Sure,” Daisy said, waving her hands in the air. “Everything would be exactly the same, except for the part where an alien robot was putting Fitz into cryogenic sleep in order to save the world, S.H.I.E.L.D. was still discredited, and Hale was hot on our tails. I don’t like this. What if Enoch doesn’t believe you about the future changing? Or even if he does believe you, how do you know for sure he can adjust the white monolith to send you back to our time? You would be stuck in the past, alone, without any way to get back to us. It’s too risky.”

 

“Nothing is too risky for me if I can get Fitz back,” Jemma said. An alarm rang out on her phone. She silenced it and put away her work, then she rose with a folder in hand, all the notes neatly stowed inside.

 

Daisy followed Jemma wordlessly out of the lab and towards the kitchen. The other woman clearly still had something to say, but Jemma didn’t want to continue the conversation.

 

She reached her destination and went straight to the fridge, pulling out ingredients for a nutritionally balanced meal. Once she finished assembling her lunch, Jemma carried the tray to an empty table, opened her notes next to the food, and she began to eat as she went back to work on the calculations. Daisy sat down beside her with a sandwich and a bag of chips. The two women ate in silence for a little while.  

 

“Ugh, I don’t know how you can drink that,” Daisy finally said, eyeing the smoothie that Jemma clutched in one hand. “It’s like an elephant threw up bunch of grass and leaves, mixed in some mud, and then spit on it. Isn’t there some other way to get the same vitamins or whatever?”

 

“Certainly,” Jemma answered. “There are many different ways to obtain the same mixture of nutrients, but the smoothie is the most efficient method. It requires minimal preparation time and I can still work during mealtimes.”

 

“Yeah, and the same goes for that hard boiled egg and the sawdust multigrain toast on your plate,” Daisy said. “Look, I’ve been there. After Lincoln, everything tasted like ash. But Fitz is still out there, and you are going to find him. Do you think he would want to see you like this when he’s back?”

 

“I won’t be like this when he is back,” Jemma said matter-of-factly. She softened slightly as she took in Daisy’s worried expression. “Thank you, Daisy. I know you are trying to help. Did you do this for Fitz too when I was on Maveth?”

 

“Actually, I am not sure which of you is worse,” Daisy frowned. “Fitz would work through days without food or sleep, yelling at us whenever we forced him to take a break. I’ve never even heard of half of the curses he threw out. You set your alarm clock for three meals a day and run miles on the treadmill so you can fall asleep in exhaustion. Since you realized Fitz is still out there, I haven’t seen you cry or break down once. You can’t keep holding everything in like this. Sooner or later, you are going to break.”

 

“I am simply taking care of myself,” Jemma said. “I realize perfectly well that I can’t do any good if I am working at half capacity due to inadequate nutrition or lack of proper sleep. There’s no point for an useless crying session when I could be working instead. You don’t have to worry about me.”

 

“Of course I am going to worry about you,” Daisy said. “Which is why you better check those calculations again and make sure your time travel machine could take two people. I am coming with you.”

 

“What?” Jemma dropped her pen in surprise. “I can’t… I can’t ask you to do that Daisy.” She knew Daisy had cried at Fitz’s death, and she had apologized to Daisy on Fitz’s behalf, but they haven’t really talked about everything that had happened. The wounds have been too raw on both sides. Asking the younger woman to venture into time travel again for Fitz was out of the question.

 

“You are not asking, I am offering,” Daisy replied. “You said earlier that nothing is too risky for you if you can get Fitz back. Well, I am not willing to risk losing _you_. If things go south for whatever reason, you might have to get out of the Lighthouse, and our faces were plastered everywhere. I know May trained you on guns and I’ve seen you use that knife on Kasius, but it’s not enough if Hale or Ruby comes in with a team. You need backup. Besides, it’s not just for you.”

 

The two women looked at each other for a long moment.

 

“Look,” Daisy said. “I honestly don’t know if I am going to punch or hug Fitz first when I see him, but I want to have that option, okay? Maybe I’d feel better after I yell at him for ten years. Maybe I’d request to be on a separate team so I’d never see him again. But first, we need to get him back.”

 

Jemma nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She still had a long way to go before she could have her heart back again, but it helped to know she was not alone.

 

******

 

The team assembled in a nondescript room, located midway down the Lighthouse. Behind a glass wall stood the a replica of the time machine they had seen on the Zephyr in the future. Piper looked at it with equal parts curiosity and apprehension. Elena zoomed around the room for a final security check on the reinforced walls and doors. Jemma entered several commands on the control module in front of her. Daisy put on her gauntlets.

 

“I can’t believe I am sending anyone through this crazy rock again,” Mack sighed. He stared at the two younger agents in front of him. “You really sure about this?”

 

“Yes,” Jemma answered simply. “As I explained in my report, we can calculate a rough boundary for Fitz’s potential location, but even at Zephyr’s maximum speed, we would need years to search through the area. When Fitz made the upgrades to enable Zephyr for space flight, he was preparing for a future in which Earth cracked apart, so the engines were capable of short periods of acceleration to escape gravity storms and slow orbits in space, but they were never meant to sustain an extended journey at high speeds. If I could find Enoch before he takes Fitz into space, convince him to give me his planned coordinates, then I could come back to the present time and we would know exactly where to go.”

 

“Alright,” Mack said. “So the objective is to find Enoch, get the coordinates, and come back. Now remember, what happens if things go south?”

 

“Complete the mission but keep out of sight,” Jemma answered. “Avoid interactions with others as much as possible so we don’t affect the past timeline.”

 

“That, and to _come back safely_ ,” Mack emphasized. “Look, we will find Fitz, but when we do, I don’t want to explain to him that we lost you in the process. So, if things got serious, you two come straight back here, and we will figure out some other way. You hear me?”

 

“Crystal clear,” Daisy said. She exchanged a glance with Mack and nodded in Jemma’s direction. “Alright, let’s do this.”

 

The two women each picked up a small backpack by the glass wall and put it on. Mack passed ICERs to both agents. They tucked the weapons away, out of sight but easily reachable. Jemma pointed towards the control module.

 

“After Daisy and I walk through, make sure the door is securely locked behind us. I’ve already set the machine for our targeted time. Once I give you the signal, pull down the red lever there when you are ready.”

 

Mack sighed again. “I don’t know that I will ever be ready for time travel.”

 

“Come on, Director. It’s part of your job now,” Daisy smirked. She turned to Jemma. “Shall we?”

 

Jemma entered the passcode for the door in the glass wall and walked through, locking the door carefully after Daisy joined her. The scientist took out a small pouch from her jacket pocket, then she reached in for the small fragment of the white monolith. Looking at it again, she was glad she convinced May not to smash the fragment. In another future, her daughter held on to it as a beacon of hope, a promise that she and Fitz would solve the problem and make a better world for their little girl. Now Jemma was going to use the monolith fragment to find Fitz, and they would build a new future together again. Without hesitation, she inserted the fragment into the time machine.

 

As Jemma turned to give Mack the go-ahead signal, she saw that both Piper and Elena have turned towards the entrance with a surprised expression. Mack’s hand was hovering near the red lever, but he too was looking towards the main door. The soundproof glass wall prevented Jemma from hearing what had attracted their attention, but the next moment, the entrance burst open and three men stumbled in from the hallway. Deke came in first, with wild eyes that widened in fear as he saw Jemma and Daisy standing in front of the time machine. Hunter was right behind him, mouth moving furiously in some sort of impassioned speech. Davis followed at the end, looking bewildered.

 

Before Jemma could wonder how Deke and Hunter, of all people, came here together, Deke launched himself at Mack. As she gasped in surprise, Deke slammed against the control module and Mack involuntarily pulled the red lever down. The next thing Jemma knew, the world had gone dark.

 

******

 

When she came back to consciousness, Jemma checked her surroundings immediately. The room looked exactly as it did before she had taken it over and Mack nicknamed it the “rock dock.” Gone were the fancy computers and unbreakable glass walls. Now there was nothing but abandoned empty space. Besides her, Daisy grunted.

 

“Ugh, no offense to your machine, but time travel really sucks,” Daisy said as she sat up. “Did it work? Are we in the past now?”

 

“I believe so,” Jemma answered cautiously. “The room appeared to be the same one as we were in, before all of my modifications. Of course, we won’t know for certain until we go out and investigate.”

 

“Let’s go then,” Daisy said. She opened the door cautiously and glanced around, signaling Jemma to follow her down the hallway. “Control room first?”

 

“Yes,” Jemma motioned to the door to the southern stairways. “I chose that room because it was midway down the Lighthouse, far enough away from both the control center and the original monolith storage room, in case anything goes awry. The control room should be twelve levels above us.”

 

“Twelve levels, and of course we have to take the stairs,” Daisy muttered.

 

“Polly said they left the Lighthouse shortly after Fitz went into the cryogenic chamber,” Jemma said. “We have no idea if Enoch lingered behind or departed immediately afterwards. To make sure we don’t miss him, I set the time to just before Polly’s departure. Hunter, Polly, and Robin should still be in the building, and we can’t risk them seeing us. Using the lift would announce our presence rather loudly, won’t you say?”

 

Daisy sighed but didn’t offer any arguments. The two friends climbed stairs in silence. Jemma was rather proud of herself when they reached their destination level. She was a little out of breath but she had kept up with Daisy.

 

Once they stepped inside the control room, Daisy frowned. “Someone had been here recently, the dust was disturbed.”

 

“Polly said they never ventured beyond level three, but Enoch might have gone through the entire base,” Jemma answered. “Let’s see if we can find them first.”

 

Daisy nodded and immediately went to work on the computers, pulling up security camera feeds from various parts of the base. Images of empty rooms and hallways flashed one after another. All of a sudden, several drones flew across the the screen.

 

“The D.W.A.R.F.s,” Jemma gasped. “Fitz would have stored them properly on the Zephyr before he went into the cryogenic chamber. We must have arrived earlier than expected.”

 

“Yeah, and Enoch probably has some sort of robot trigger that alerted him when we came in,” Daisy said. “That camera feed was from the level above us. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”

 

They rushed out of the control room and froze. In the hallway, with his back half turned and looking down at the controller in his hands, stood Fitz. His face was hidden in shadows but Jemma would know that silhouette anywhere. Fitz was here, _alive_. Before she could think about it, Jemma ran. “Fitz!”

 

He started to turn towards her when he heard his name. Fitz’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw her, but before he could say anything, Jemma kissed him.

 

Jemma had imagined their reunion countless times, though it was never like this. Fitz stood immobile in her arms, his lips not moving against hers. Just as Jemma was about to pull back and ask him what’s wrong, Fitz opened his lips and she dived back in, tongue tracing every line of his mouth. Fitz whimpered and then he was finally kissing her back, eager though still a little hesitant. One of her arms went from his back down to his bum, and Fitz groaned as she pulled him flush with her.

 

Somewhere nearby, Jemma heard multiple gasps, then a surprisingly familiar voice.

 

“ _You take your hands off him!_ ”

 

Startled, Jemma broke from Fitz and glanced behind her. Staring at her was a younger Jemma Simmons, with curled wavy hair and a frown, ready to defend her best friend’s virtue. Next to her stood Daisy. Except Daisy dressed in somber blacks and this girl still wore colors. Skye, as she was back then. Jemma looked back at Fitz, her brain already knew what she would find before her eyes acknowledged the evidence, and she saw soft curls, a clean shaven face, and wide eyes that were equal parts confused, aroused, and elated.

 

“Well, so much for not interacting with the past,” Daisy said.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Fitz

Fitz was grumpy. They’ve wasted a whole day in Chicago chasing down a potential lead on Ian Quinn, and it turned out to be a dead end. After Coulson gave everyone the night off, he and Skye managed to convince Simmons that they deserved a decent dinner. The waiter had just placed the deep dish pizza in front of him when Ward came in and forced everyone to go back to the Bus for a new mission. He didn’t even get to take a bite!

 

“Yes Fitz, I heard you the first time,” Simmons said as they stood in the empty hallway together, with the D.W.A.R.F.s flying around them. “You didn’t get a bite of that cheese monstrosity. Honestly, your arteries should probably thank this mission.”

 

“It was Lou Malnatti’s!” Fitz exclaimed, gesturing with his hands for emphasis. “We were in Chicago for an entire day and I didn’t get to eat a proper deep dish pizza. It’s criminal, that’s what it is. They even sell frozen pizzas for travel and Ward wouldn’t let me get one. No time to waste he said. I’d like to see what’s so urgent here, huh? This dust mite?”

 

“The call was for an 084 and we were the closest team,” Simmons replied. She was focused on the ICER in her hand. Skye had complained that the weapon was hard to conceal under ‘normal people clothes’ and Simmons was trying to prove the field agent wrong since they haven’t had time to change from their causal outfits at dinner. “Now I do admit we haven’t seen anything unusual so far, but HQ said the monitors picked up an unusual energy signature earlier at this location. Besides, it’s not every day we find a mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. base under a lighthouse. There must be something.”

 

“Well, so far the D.W.A.R.F.s are all reporting normal readings,” Fitz said as he recalled the drones and they walked towards the northern stairwell. “And can you really call the base mysterious when Coulson just swiped his level eight badge to get us in? I mean, Skye didn’t hack any computers and Ward didn’t need to kick the door down. Whenever Coulson manages to get hold of Director Fury, I will bet he says it’s just an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. project in cultivating the biggest dust mite known to humankind.”

 

“Ugh Fitz,” Simmons rolled her eyes. “Have a sense of adventure!”

 

“I will have a sense of adventure when my senses are not all dulled from lack of proper nutrition,” Fitz retorted. 

 

“A deep dish pizza is in no way a meal with proper nutrition,” Simmons said. “You should have shared my salad on the flight over. Tell you what, after the mission is over, I will make you another salad, and then you can have some Maltesers that I have in my bunk, all right?”

 

Fitz beamed at her. Simmons really was the best friend one could ask for. Even while trying to make him eat rabbit fare, she always kept some sort of real food around for him. 

 

They reached the northern stairwell, where Skye was waiting for them, holding the door open to allow the drones access. 

 

“Ward already cleared the floor below us and didn’t find anything,” Skye said. “He saw some sort of control room though, so Coulson wants us to set up in there while he and Ward keep checking the lower levels. I will see if I can find anything in the computers while you guys do your thing with the drones.”

 

Fitz nodded and walked down the stairs with the D.W.A.R.F.s. Behind him, he heard Skye snicker.

 

“Really, Simmons?” Skye sounded much too amused. “‘Oh Fitz, let me make you dinner, and for dessert, come in to my bunk where there’s no room to sit but on the bed, and eat chocolates with me?’ That’s not what I would do with a platonic best friend.”

 

“Fitz likes Maltesers!” Simmons protested.

 

His ears turning pink, Fitz hurried ahead into the hallway on the next level, not wanting to listen to the girls talk. Simmons and him have shared snacks many times. It’s what best friends do. Although the bunks were tiny and they would have to sit right next to each other, like the time when Simmons came to his bunk after her jump and kissed him on the cheek. Did she thought about that before making the offer? Should he kiss her on the cheek later as a thank you for dinner? Ugh, now might not be the best time to think about such things. Simmons would come out to the hallway any moment now and he couldn’t just stand here blushing like an idiot. Fitz looked down at the controller in his hand and tried to rein in his thoughts.

 

As he fiddled with the drones, Fitz heard a door opening, footsteps running towards him, and Simmons calling out his name. He turned towards her voice and looked up. Wait, did she just go back to the Bus and change? Did he completely lose track of time while trying to sort out his head? Now she’s wearing a different top, a backpack, and her hair up in a ponytail. She left her hair down earlier at dinner and he had been resisting the urge to run his fingers through the silky strands. Before he could say anything, she ran up to him and then  _ Jemma Simmons was kissing him _ . 

 

Fitz stood frozen in shock. Did Skye’s teasing somehow lead Jemma to decide she has feelings for him? Or did the 084 cause hallucinations of some sort? But she felt too solid against him to be a dream, and she had called out his name, so she knew it was him before she attacked him with her lips. He opened his mouth to ask her what’s going on, and she shoved her tongue down his throat. Fitz let out an involuntary whimper, and his brain gave up the fight. Jemma Simmons was kissing him of her own free will, and of course he’d kiss her back. 

 

Kissing Jemma was somehow everything and nothing like Fitz had imagined. It was passionate and comforting all at the same time, and Jemma was a lot more insistent than he thought she’d be on a first kiss. Her arms held him firmly in place as though she was afraid he might disappear. Once he made a tentative exploration of her mouth with his tongue, she didn’t let him shy away from her, but instead she moved a hand lower down his back. Fitz groaned as Jemma squeezed his bum and pulled him flush with her, their bodies melting into each other. 

 

Dimly, Fitz heard loud gasps and a familiar voice. 

 

“ _ You take your hands off him! _ ”

 

His eyes flew open as Jemma broke their kiss. Only now there were two Jemmas. One in his arms and still pressed up against him, head turned to look behind her. One stood a little further, looking angry and confused like someone had stolen him away from her. The Jemma in his arms turned back to him, and Fitz saw so many different emotions on her face, but one stood out and he stared at her in wonder, awed that his love would ever be returned so plainly in her eyes. He then saw the differences from his Jemma. Aside from the clothing and the hair, she was a little older, with more lines around her eyes that he hoped were from laughter rather than tears, and a brittleness that he had never associated with Jemma before. It was as if her spirit had broken and she was barely holding herself together by clutching at him. 

 

“Well, so much for not interacting with the past,” Skye said. Only it was an older version of Skye, dressed in black tactical gear with a small backpack and some sort of gauntlets. The Skye he knew stood with his Jemma next to the northern stairwell door, both still frozen in shock.

 

The Jemma in his arms stepped back from him, and Fitz felt lost. She took a deep breath and he could see her pull herself together, standing next to the other Skye and looking at them with a smile. 

 

“Well hello,” she said. “This is unexpected. Daisy and I came from 2018. We only meant to travel back six months or so, but clearly we’ve gone much further. What month and year is it now?”

 

“Daisy? Time travel?” Skye asked. “Okay, this is officially weird, even for S.H.I.E.L.D.”

 

Simmons’ eyes narrowed, and she pointed the ICER on her double while talking on her comms. “Coulson, we have unknown intruders masquerading as Skye and I. Please hurry.”

 

“Oh dear,” older Simmons said. “You don’t believe me at all, do you?”

 

“Jemma Simmons sees another woman kissing Fitz and wants to shoot her? That sounds about right,” the other Skye said with grim amusement. “Okay, Jemma, what’s our protocol here? Obviously we’ve already messed with the timeline because I definitely don’t remember anything like this happening before. Do I knock them out and we run for it? Hope they’d think it was just a weird dream? Or do we stay and try to talk our way out of this?”

 

“We stay,” older Simmons said. “You are right, I would never let it go if I saw an imposter kissing Fitz. We have to explain things to them.”

 

“Yes, an explanation would be nice,” Coulson’s voice sounded wary. 

 

Fitz looked over to see the older agent standing in the stairwell doorway with Ward. Both men have weapons aimed at the two strange women. 

 

“Now, I don’t know who you are or what you hope to accomplish by masquerading as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Coulson said. “But I can assure you there is no escape, so why don’t you come along with us and we will all have a nice chat?”

 

“Coulson,” older Skye said with a wealth of emotions that Fitz didn’t understand. “Look, this is all a misunderstanding. We will come to the Bus and we will get this sorted out.”

 

“Not so fast, Daisy,” older Simmons said with steel in her voice. Fitz looked at her in surprise and saw that she was staring at Ward. “I thought we were traveling backwards in our original timeline, but something clearly went wrong. We know from Deke’s continued existence that there are parallel universes, and I think we stumbled into one. We need to ascertain how closely this universe mirrors ours. As we know, changing even one thing in the past could lead to unexpected results.”

 

The other Skye followed her companion’s gaze and nodded. She glanced around the hallway. 

 

“Okay, Coulson’s here and clearly not a history teacher, so at least we have that,” she said. “Fitz, who raised you after age ten?”

 

“Wh… What?” Fitz stuttered. His father left the family when he was ten, but he had never told Skye that. “My mum did, but I don’t see how that’s relevant to anything!”

 

“You would be surprised,” older Skye said. “Ward, did Victoria Hand take you in after your split from your family?” 

 

Ward narrowed his eyes but didn’t answer. Beside him, Coulson frowned. “Agent Hand worked with my team recently, but she didn’t know Agent Ward personally beforehand. You are claiming that you come from a parallel universe?”

 

The two women shared a look between them. They seemed to have reached some sort of unspoken agreement, and the other Skye shrugged. 

 

“It won’t be the weirdest thing you’d have to deal with as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents,” she said. “Come on, let’s go to the Bus. Is May back in the cockpit? I can’t wait to watch her face when she sees us!”

 

******

 

May was impassive as ever when she saw the other Simmons and Skye walk up the cargo bay, Ward escorting them with weapon still drawn. She merely raised an eyebrow and asked: “nano masks?”

 

“No, though I suppose we have to prove it,” older Simmons said. She rolled up a sleeve and held out her arm to her counterpart. “Here, take my blood. The DNA analysis ought to show that I am Jemma Simmons. If you can take my backpack from Coulson, you will find my notes on the time machine I built to get us here. I packed them in case I need to recreate the device here. You and Fitz will see the science is perfectly sound. Only look at the papers in the tangerine folder though, not the fuchsia. Because T is for tangerine is for…”

 

“Time travel,” both Simmons and Fitz said at the same time. 

 

Other Simmons smiled at them. Fitz looked away awkwardly as this woman really do feel just like his Simmons. His best friend Simmons, who walked off determinedly for her kit and came back to jab the needle abruptly into the other woman’s arm. She was as careful and precise as ever, but Fitz could tell she was rattled. 

 

Simmons finished drawing blood and labeled the tube before putting it away. She turned to the other Skye. “Your turn.”

 

“Um, that might not be the best idea,” older Skye said. She looked between her younger self and Coulson. “Where are you in terms of timeline? Have you, um, talked about your parents at all?”

 

“I know that S.H.I.E.L.D. was protecting me for all these years,” Skye said breathlessly. “Oh my god, do you know our parents?! Are they alive? How did you find them?”

 

“It’s a long story,” other Skye said. “I don’t know how much I can tell you because of the whole don’t-interfere-with-the-past thing, but, yeah, I found them. It wasn’t exactly a happy story though. There were dangers. A very good friend and teammate died. If your Simmons run a DNA analysis on my blood, the people hunting after you will find us, and we can’t afford that right now.”

 

Fitz wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but Skye looked close to tears. The older woman softened. 

 

“Hey, I never introduced myself,” she said. “Daisy Johnson, the name I was born with. Dad said he used to sing Daisy Bell as a lullaby.”

 

Skye was full on crying now. Coulson looked both wary and sympathetic. He nodded at Simmons. “Just run the test on the sample you have right now. Fitz, take the backpacks and see if you can make anything of them.”

 

Simmons pressed her lips into a thin line and walked to the lab. Fitz followed her. She was clearly unhappy and began running tests without a word. Fitz thought he should start a conversation but he wasn’t sure how. Exactly what do you say to your best friend after she caught you French kissing someone that looked just like her? 

 

With a silent sigh, he opened up both backpacks and removed their contents. He and Ward have checked them for weapons and bugs earlier but didn’t find anything. One backpack had a set of civilian clothing, several protein bars, and a slim laptop. The other one held spare clothes and food as well, along with several color coded folders. He opened the tangerine colored one and saw handwriting as familiar to him as his own. He began reading through the pages. 

 

“Simmons, you need to come and look at these notes,” Fitz exclaimed in excitement. “I don’t understand all the equations and this monolith she keeps on referring to, but this time machine is bloody brilliant!” 

 

“What? Oh,” Simmons said. She was staring at the screen even though the computer wasn’t done with the analysis yet. At his voice, she visibly started. “Yes, I suppose I better take a look.  Although didn’t you always say that time travel is impossible?” 

 

“That’s not true,” Fitz answered automatically. “ _ Changing _ the past, or the future, is impossible. Time is a fixed line. Time travel itself ought to be possible, we would just be walking on an established path. I can’t believe you invented a time machine on your own though, I always knew you were smarter than me but this isn’t even your discipline!” 

 

“So you believe her?” Simmons asked in a strange voice. “That she’s Jemma Simmons from a parallel universe? I haven’t finished running my analysis yet. She could be an enemy agent in disguise.”

 

“I’d like to know where our enemies would find someone this brilliant,” Fitz said. “Nah, I am still wrapping my head around it, but she’s you. It’s the way she wrote these notes, it’s the same way you think. You even have the same handwriting, the same organization system!” And the same scent too, a little voice in his brain added. He had memorized Jemma’s scent from all their years of friendly hugs and working side by side. It stayed true regardless of her frequent shampoo experimentations. The other Jemma has smelled exactly the same in his arms. For a moment he wondered if they tasted the same too, and he firmly squashed that thought. 

 

“I see,” Simmons said. “She is a better version of me that’s smarter, clearly more experienced in the field, and I am guessing a fantastic kisser too? Well if she really is from a parallel universe, whatever mission she is on probably won’t let her stay here, so don’t get too attached!”

 

“What?” Fitz asked. “What in the world are you talking about?”

 

“I saw the way you looked at her after your kiss,” she spat out. “As your best friend, I just don’t want to see you with your heart broken when she leaves.”

 

“Have you gone mental? I am not interested in her like that!” Fitz was defensive without knowing why. He knew he probably looked like a lovesick fool back there when he thought he was kissing his Jemma, and he would understand if she’s upset with him for overstepping their friendship, but it almost sounded like she was angry because he was kissing… someone else? 

 

“Ugh Fitz! You were kissing her!” 

 

“Because I thought I was kissing you!” 

 

They stared at each other. The silence stretched. 

 

“I don’t understand,” she said, her eyes wide and uncertain. “Fitz, you are my best friend in the world.”

 

Fitz took a deep breath. She hadn’t rebuked him immediately for his confession, so maybe he could take a chance. He did receive proof earlier that there was an universe in which Jemma Simmons wanted to kiss him. 

 

“You are more than that, Jemma.”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Logistic notes:
> 
> \- In case it’s not clear, this chapter is set between 1.12 “Seeds” and before 1.13 “T.R.A.C.K.S.” 
> 
> \- Since the Lighthouse was designed as an emergency bunker for humanity, the original plan has to allow for multiple high level agents to lead various groups of important personnel into the bunker, so I say a level eight badge would give the team access. That and because I don’t feel like writing a long scene of Skye hacking the front door.
> 
> \- Since Simmons shot an ICER in 1.13, I take it that she did have weapons training before, but she wasn’t proficient at it until May trained her in season 3. 
> 
> \- To me, the multiverse theory is the best way to explain the time travel we saw in season 5, so that’s what I am going with.


	3. Simmons

Jemma Simmons excelled at preparation, which was why she found it particularly distressing when faced with a scenario that she had never prepared for. Namely, having her best friend in the world looking at her like… like _that_. What was Fitz doing? He knew her record. She had no problems with dating itself, but somehow things never progressed into serious relationships. Milton had been the only one she ever dated long enough for the boyfriend moniker and that barely lasted three months. Fitz was… Fitz was her everything! She couldn’t lose him over something as trivial as casual sex. Before she could say anything though, the computer beeped.

 

“That must be the DNA analysis results,” she said in a rush and turned towards the screen. She couldn’t risk looking at Fitz much longer or she might do something like rash, like kissing him. “It is a match. Since I am fairly certain my parents wouldn’t give away an identical twin sister without ever telling me, and cloning technology isn’t advanced enough yet to my knowledge, I suppose she really is Jemma Simmons from another universe. Oh this is fascinating! Think of the space time theories we can explore with this! Where did you put her notes on time travel?”

 

“Here,” Fitz shoved a tangerine colored folder next to the keyboard. “I will go tell Coulson.”

 

“Fitz?” she risked a sideways glance at him, but he had already turned away from her and began to walk out of the lab. Something was wrong. Fitz never passed up a chance to have a discussion about science. How could she have mucked this up before she even had sex with him? She went after him. “Fitz!”

 

She caught up with him outside the lab doors, but Coulson and May were already standing on the catwalk and peering down at them. They have to make their report first. She pushed away her emotions and walked up the stairs with Fitz.

 

“Sir, the DNA analysis matched the other woman to me,” she said once they reached Coulson.

 

“And her notes on time travel appear to be legitimate,” Fitz said. “I don’t understand all of it yet, but I believe her. She is Simmons from the future of another universe.”

 

“Simmons? Do you believe so as well?” Coulson asked.

 

Did she believe it? That there was another Jemma Simmons from a parallel universe, one who apparently had more brains, more field experience, and no problems whatsoever with kissing Fitz? She didn’t know how she felt about the idea, but the evidence was in front of her. “Yes sir.”

 

“Let’s go say hello to our guests then,” Coulson said. May raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as she followed Coulson.

 

The four of them walked towards the interrogation room. Ward and Skye were watching the monitors in the command center. Skye came towards them immediately.

 

“So? Is it true?” Skye asked. “Are they from the future? A parallel universe?”

 

“It would appear so,” Coulson answered.

 

“I knew it!” Skye said. “S.H.I.E.L.D. is totally playing with space and time travel. Oh my god, I get to see a real time machine. Hey FitzSimmons, do you think you guys designed it like that blue box in the sci-fi show you like to watch?”

 

“The device in her notes looked nothing like the TARDIS,” Fitz answered. “And Simmons did it alone. Everything was in her handwriting. Looks like she didn’t need me anymore in the future.”

 

Jemma Simmons’ world tilted out of axis for the third time that day. Alone? Without Fitz? He had expressed surprise earlier that the older Simmons built the time machine on her own, but she thought he meant the other woman came up with the core concept or some major innovation, surely Fitz must had contributed to the engineering aspect. She stared at him but he won’t meet her eyes. He wouldn’t joke about their partnership like this. An inexplicable anger rose in her. Why did the other Simmons part ways with Fitz? Did they kiss too and then muddled it all up? Now this woman came here and kissed _her_ Fitz, confusing everything. She wanted things to go back to before, when they were simply best friends and she never had to face the prospect of living without him.

 

“Sir,” she said before she could think too much about it. “I would like to request to join you in the interrogation room. I realize this is against the usual protocol since I don’t have the required training, but under the circumstances, I believe I would be the one best qualified to tell if this woman is lying or hiding things from us.”

 

“Why do you think she might be lying?” Coulson asked with mild interest.

 

“We don’t know her objectives yet,” she said. “While I would like to think every incarnation of myself is a good person, her mission could have conflicting interests from ours. It is just a precaution.”

 

“Alright,” Coulson said. “By that same logic, Skye, you come in too. May and Fitz, go to the command center and monitor the room from there with Ward. Skye and Simmons, you don’t say or do anything without my permission. They clearly know a lot about us already and we need want to find out more about them. Just watch for inconsistencies in their story. Understand?”

 

“Yes sir,” both she and Skye answered.

 

The two strange women were sitting quietly by the table when the door opened. They both stood up immediately at the sight of Coulson and smiled.

 

“Coulson,” the other Skye said. “Do you believe us now?”

 

“Let’s say that for now, we believe you are Skye and Simmons from a parallel universe, but we still have lots of questions,” Coulson said. “Time travel is not a light endeavor. Why are you here?”

 

“We weren’t supposed to be here,” the other Simmons said. “Our mission was to go back several months in our own timeline, to retrieve a piece of information that is vital to our current project. However, something went wrong and we came to your universe by accident. What month and year is it for you?”

 

“I see,” Coulson didn’t answer the question. “And where is the rest of your team?”

 

“No one else came with us,” the other Skye said. “Just me and Simmons.”

 

“You expect me to believe that my counterpart would send you on a time traveling mission without any backup?” Coulson said. “Skye, I can tell you’ve gained some field experience, but the two of you came here with a single ICER that you voluntarily gave us, and we didn’t find any more weapons in your backpacks. That’s not enough firepower. Simmons, where is your Fitz? I would have thought building a time machine is more in his domain. Is he monitoring us from somewhere right now?”

 

Both women froze for a moment.

 

“Actually, our mission is to find Fitz,” the other Simmons said. Her voice wavered but didn’t break. “We can’t give you too many details, but Fitz is lost in space right now, and we are going after the information we need to retrieve him.”

 

“You lost Fitz?” Jemma Simmons gasped. All of a sudden, her anger dissipated. Her counterpart was putting on a brave face, but she saw the pain in the other woman’s eyes. Whatever caused the separation, the other Jemma needed Fitz as much as she did. “How do we get him back?”

 

“Simmons,” Coulson said with a note of warning in his voice.

 

“Sir, I believe her,” Jemma said. “If Fitz is lost in space somehow, I would absolutely build a time machine if that’s the only way I could find him. You are right though, engineering is not my domain, which is why I won’t bring backup. I wouldn’t want to risk anyone else in case I made a mistake.”

 

“Except I would insist on coming along no matter what,” Skye said with a smile. “Have to help you get Fitz back. Did we have to pull any bad girl shenanigans?”

 

“No,” the older Skye said. “Simmons didn’t shoot a superior officer this time, just buried him under hundred page reports on space time theory every day until he agreed to the mission. Look, time travel is tricky and this was supposed to be a simple information retrieval, that’s why we didn’t bring more people. Heck, Simmons talked my head off about how we must stay in the shadows and avoid contact with living human beings in the past, until she saw Fitz and forgot all of her own rules. So, can we get out of this room now? I’ve said before that I miss the Bus, but I was really thinking more about the full bar and the board games.”

 

“What happened to the Bus?” Coulson asked.

 

“It was blown up during a mission,” the older Jemma said. “But Fitz built a new plane for us. It’s even capable of space flight now.”

 

“Space,” Coulson said. “Wow, I bet I loved that. Alright, let’s get you back to HQ and we can figure out how to help you get back to your own universe.”

 

“Space was overrated,” the other Skye said. She exchanged a glance with her companion. “We know S.H.I.E.L.D. has rules about this sort of things, but if you take us there, we would be stuck in a room forever while a bunch of specialists try to grill us for information. Believe me, you do not want to know everything about the future. Can’t we just stay here and let FitzSimmons do their science stuff? I mean, Simmons already built a time machine once, so with three of them around we should be able to get back to our universe in no time. Just delay telling HQ about us for a bit until we are gone.”

 

“You are asking me to go off the books,” Coulson said.

 

“Yes,” the older Skye said. “You’ve told my younger self the truth about my history, so I am guessing you guys already came across Ian Quinn and heard about the Clairvoyant? I can’t tell you much, but please believe me when I say we need to keep this quiet.”

 

“So the Clairvoyant is real?” Coulson asked with skepticism.

 

“He played the team like a fiddle,” the older Simmons said. “He hears and sees everything we do in this room now. Fitz and I barely escaped with our lives, and he still got what he wanted. We can’t waste time with paperwork at the HQ. I have to start working now to find a way back.”

 

“Alright,” Coulson said. “I will agree to keeping this off records for now, but I expect you two to share any information you can about Ian Quinn and the Clairvoyant. Don’t pull the ‘I can’t say too much’ excuse. You have to be able to tell us something without blowing up our universe.”

 

The two visitors exchanged another look. “We can do that.”

 

“After you then,” Coulson pulled the door open.

 

They filed out of the interrogation room. May, Ward, and Fitz met them in the lounge.

 

“Obviously you already know everyone on the team,” Coulson said. “Guys, meet Skye and Simmons from another universe.” He paused. “This is going to get confusing.”

 

“I go by Daisy now,” the older Skye, or rather Daisy, said.

 

“Still Simmons, but I am sure we will figure something out,” the older Jemma said. She smiled and held out a hand. “Jemma Simmons, biochemist.”

 

Jemma found herself returning the smile and shaking the other woman’s hand. “Jemma Simmons, biochemist.”

 

“Leopold Fitz, engineering,” Fitz said. “Um, thank you for going after me, him, the other me. It means a lot.”

 

“Of course I would go after you,” the other Jemma said. “We made a promise, in the future, that we were never going to leave each other’s side again.” She took a deep breath and Jemma could saw her force the cheerful expression back on. “Sorry about earlier, by the way. I’ve been so focused on the search that I lost my head a bit when I saw you from the back. I would never have kissed you if I realized you weren’t my Fitz. I hope I didn’t cause any problems.”

 

“Um…” Fitz fidgeted and looked down from the other woman’s face. His gaze fell on her left hand. He gasped. “You are married?!”

 

Jemma stared at her counterpart, who was playing with the ring but didn’t deny Fitz’s words. How could she be married? Jemma didn’t even have a boyfriend!

 

“Huh,” Ward said. “I thought you said you are still Simmons.”

 

“Of course she would still be Simmons,” Fitz snapped. “What kind of man would expect Jemma Simmons to change her name just because she’s married?”

 

“Actually, I asked if we should hyphenate,” the older Jemma said with the ghost of a smile. “You didn’t think Simmons-Fitz would roll off the tongue though.”

 

Skye’s jaw dropped. Coulson and Ward appeared mildly surprised. May didn’t bat an eyelash.

 

Fitz looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. “Si… Simmons-Fitz?”

 

“Yes,” the other Jemma said. “You didn’t think I was going to marry anyone else, do you? It’s always been you, Fitz.”

 

Jemma Simmons’ world fell into place. Like a slide shifting into position under the microscope, everything was suddenly clear. She had always knew she never wanted to be without Fitz. He was her best friend, but he was also more than that. He was her heart, her life, her home. She just didn’t have the words for her emotion until now.

 

“You know what, it’s already late at night,” Coulson interjected. “Ward and Skye, why don’t you go get some rest. May, you can show Daisy where we keep the spare linen and help her set up cots in the lounge. FitzSimmons and Simmons, go to the lab and figure out a preliminary work plan, and you can start on that time machine in the morning.”

 

Everyone scattered as Coulson directed. Jemma felt as if she would burst from her emotions as she descended the stairs. Fitz walked resolutely in front of her though and hurried into the lab without giving her a glance. A hand rested on her shoulder.

 

“I am sorry,” the other Jemma said. “I made things awkward for you, didn’t I? You haven’t figured out you love him yet at this point in time.”

 

“Please don’t apologize,” Jemma said. “I didn’t realize what it was before, but you are right. Of course it’s always been Fitz. I just need to tell him that.”

 

“I will leave you two alone for a bit then,” her counterpart said. “I am glad you figured it out sooner than I did. Treasure every second with him. We’ve had too much separation already.”

 

Jemma walked into the lab alone. She paused by a lab bench besides Fitz, who was busy with a tablet and refused to look at her. Why was he being ridiculous? He was the one who said earlier that he saw her as more than a friend. Did the idea of marriage scare him off? Fitz never liked change. She started to panic but then forced herself to calm down. They have proof that there was an universe in which Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz got married and never wanted to let each other go. Now they simply needed to examine the evidence, interpret the data, and draw a conclusion, as they have done together so many times before.

 

“Fitz,” Jemma said. “Can we talk?”

 

“Yeah,” Fitz said. He looked away from the tablet but refused to meet her eyes, focusing instead on her left hand atop the lab bench. “Look, just because our counterparts get married in a parallel universe doesn’t mean we have to do anything. I… I know we are best friends, and you care about me. It’s enough. Nothing has to change.”

 

“But you said earlier I was more than that,” Jemma said. “Did you change your mind?”

 

“What? No!” Fitz said. “You obviously don’t feel the same way and that’s fine. We will forget about it. There is nothing to talk about.”

 

She reached out and grabbed his arm.

 

“There is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a little longer to write the chapter. My original plan was to refer to past!Jemma as Simmons to avoid confusion, but I realized halfway through that it would never work. I just had to work extra hard on the pronouns and names to distinguish between past and future Jemmas. With that said, I left the chapter title as Simmons because I really want to call the next chapter FitzSimmons.


	4. FitzSimmons

Fitz stared at Jemma’s hand on his arm. The hand that would wear a wedding ring from him in another universe. Could she really be saying that she returned his feelings? He forced himself to look at her face.

 

“Jemma,” he croaked out. “It’s late, you don’t have to say anything you might regret later.”

 

“I am more clear headed now than I ever was before,” she said. “It’s always been you, Fitz. I just didn’t understand it until she said it out loud for me to hear.”

 

“But earlier,” he said. “When I said… you turned away. If this is about the future… I don’t want you to feel you don’t have a choice.”

 

“You are the one who’s always been adamant that the future cannot be changed,” Jemma said. “I’ve argued against the idea, but this isn’t about that. First, the other Simmons is from a parallel universe and our timeline does not have to match hers. Second, you caught me by surprise earlier. I’ve never thought of you as anything but my best friend because I’ve never dated anyone for long and I can’t bear the thought of ever losing you. And finally, I do have a choice.” She slid her hand from his arm to his hand, interweaving their fingers together. “I choose you.”

 

Fitz wondered if he was dreaming. He had been hurt earlier when Jemma couldn’t even answer his declaration of feelings, if only to let him down gently. Soon the dejection had manifested into a full panic, he was so afraid he had messed things up to the point that she would leave him, just as her counterpart would go on missions without another Fitz in tow. The declaration from Jemma that she would risk time travel to rescue him was a welcomed balm. Jemma still cared about him. She would not leave him. He was going to treasure her friendship and never bother her again with his pesky feelings. Even after the other Jemma revealed that she had married his counterpart, he avoided looking at his best friend so he would not be tempted into entertaining wild hopes and fantasies. Now… now his Jemma was saying that she did choose him.

 

He realized he had been staring at her without a word. Come on! He was a certified genius, he must be able to answer her somehow. Could he just grab her and kiss her? No, he should at least ask her out on a date first before attempting any kissing. “Um, dinner?”

 

“Dinner?” Jemma said. “Fitz! I know you haven’t eaten tonight, but are you really thinking about food right now?”

 

“No!” Fitz yelped. “I mean. Dinner. You and Me. Somewhere… nice?” What was wrong with him? Did he forget the entire bloody English language?

 

Through a miracle, Jemma understood him. Her face softened and she gave him a little smile that almost broke his resolve on kissing.

 

“Yes, I would like that,” she said.

 

“Great,” Fitz breathed a sigh of relief. His brain finally decided to form complete sentences again. “I will, er, look into some places and run them by you. Would, ah, tomorrow night be okay?”

 

“Of course,” Jemma said. “I am sure Coulson will give us leave. This time travel problem shouldn’t be too difficult if I have already solved it in another universe, and we really haven’t had a proper break for a while. You didn’t even get to eat your dinner tonight. Oh! We need to get you some food. I will make you that salad and you can eat it while I catch up on reading the notes.”

 

“Jemma, it’s too late for salad now,” Fitz said. “I need to eat real food. Didn’t Skye stock up the galley with those American potato crisps last time she was on grocery duty?”

 

“Ugh Fitz,” Jemma said as she gathered all the folders from her counterpart and walked out of the lab with him. “Crisps are not supposed to substitute for dinner!”

 

The other Jemma was setting up a makeshift bed on the sofa when they went into the lounge. She smiled at the sight of them.

 

“Everything alright then?” she asked.

 

“Yes,” Jemma said. “Quite alright.”

 

Fitz blushed and ducked his head. He haven’t even done anything with his Jemma that would warrant a blush yet, but he felt awkward nonetheless. To hide his embarrassment, he walked over to the galley in a hunt for crisps. Daisy was setting up her own bed in the small sitting area between crew quarters. He gave her a shy smile.

 

“Hi,” Fitz said. “Do you need any help?”

 

“No thanks, I am good,” Daisy said.

 

“Okay,” Fitz said. “Just let me know if you need anything. Don’t know if your Bus is identical to this one.”

 

He waited for a moment but Daisy didn’t answer. She seemed to be more reserved and distant than Skye. Maybe she was not close to the other Fitz in the parallel universe. She voluntarily came on the rescue mission though, so the bond must still be there if not the easy camaraderie. Fitz didn’t want to probe, so he simply grabbed a bag of crisps and went back to the lounge.

 

Jemma was talking enthusiastically with her counterpart. She lighted up when she saw him.

 

“Fitz!” Jemma said. “Come here and look at this. She wrote down some preliminary notes for us on the monolith. It is absolutely fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 

“Perfect,” Fitz said. “I couldn’t make any sense of the monolith part earlier.” He noticed that the other Jemma looked exhausted. Time travel and universe hopping presumably took a toll on one’s body. He nodded at her.

 

“Thank you for writing this up for us,” he said. “You must be tired after everything though. We can read somewhere else and let you have some sleep. Ask you to clarify things in the morning if we have any questions?”

 

“That should work,” the other Jemma said. “Would you mind if I take my other folders back though? There are some things about the future that you shouldn’t know about.”

 

“Certainly,” Jemma said. She began to give the folders back to the other woman. Her hand paused on the pink one. “Fuchsia… it’s for Fitz, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes,” the other Jemma said. Fitz was startled to see a hint of tears in her eyes. “It was to prove that Fitz saved the future, and that I need to have him back.”

 

Jemma put the folders down and gave her counterpart a fierce hug.

 

“You will get him back,” she said. “We can do anything together.”

 

“Thank you,” the other Jemma said. She returned the hug for a moment, then stepped back and tried to smiled at them. “I will see you two in the morning?”

 

“Yeah,” Fitz said. He patted the other woman’s shoulder awkwardly. Jemma picked up the tangerine colored folder and the two of them walked towards the crew quarters. Daisy was stretched out on her makeshift bed already and raised her eyebrow when she saw them. Something in her expression made Fitz feel embarrassed and defensive.

 

“We are just going to read over some notes on time travel together,” Fitz said.

 

“You mean science nerd foreplay?” Daisy smirked. “Have fun. Be safe!”

 

He took back every thought he had earlier about Daisy being more distant than Skye. Clearly she had no trouble teasing him and Jemma. Blushing, Fitz opened the door to his bunk. More than friends or not, Jemma would never let him hear the end of it if he dropped crisps crumbs on her bed.

 

Fitz sat down on the bed and busied himself with opening the bag of crisps. Jemma closed the door behind her and sat down next to him. He honestly hadn’t thought anything of it when he suggested that they moved out of the lounge. They have worked together in his room countless times before. After Daisy’s comment though, he was hyper aware of Jemma’s proximity and the fact that they have both admitted to having romantic feelings for each other. Did she brush against his side quite this much the last time she was in his bunk? Should he put his arm around her shoulder? Maybe she would like to hold hands first? He started to shift closer to her and the bag of crisps made a loud crackling noise in his lap. He froze.

 

“Go ahead and eat,” Jemma patted his knee. “Let me catch up on reading, alright?”

 

“Alright,” Fitz said. Stop being a wanker, he told himself. Jemma was here to work and discuss science like they have always done. Romance can wait until their dinner tomorrow. With a mental sigh, he dug into his crisps.

 

******

 

Jemma always knew she was good at multitasking, and she was enjoying this particular skill at the moment. The scientific part of her brain was busy analyzing the information she was reading, while the more primal part of her was enjoying the warmth radiating from Fitz’s body. She had purposely sat closer to him than usual, and the heat from his side was very pleasant in the chilly plane air. Fitz could be single-minded in his focus though, and right now his attention was on finishing the silly potato crisps. It apparently hadn’t occurred to him that he could put his arm around her now. Well, she was excellent at preparation too.

 

“Fitz,” Jemma said as he finished the crisps. “Would you like a mint? I know it’s not quite the Maltesers, but at least it’s sweet.”

 

“Thanks,” Fitz said. He took two mints from her hand and chewed them happily.

 

Jemma ate a mint as well. Thankfully she always had some with her. From another pocket she extracted a pack of hand wipes. “Here you go. Don’t want to get oil all over the papers now do we?”

 

“My hands are not that greasy,” Fitz said. He wiped his hands nonetheless. “There. All clean. Now what do you make of this equation here?”

 

They discussed the notes for a while, getting lost in science. Eventually they slowed down, realizing they couldn’t go on further without talking to the other Jemma in the morning. Jemma put away the papers carefully. She caught sight of the space poster hanging at the back of the bunk door, and it reminded her of all the days they’ve spent debating space time theories in Academy and SciOps, right next to the same poster. With a sigh, she leaned her head down on Fitz’s shoulder.

 

“I just want to help them” she said. “Remember when we used to go stargazing and wonder what’s out there? We thought we would find something magnificent in space one day. Now imagine, being separated by space and time. I hate it. I don’t ever want to be teared apart from you like that.”

 

“Then we won’t let it,” Fitz said. “You said earlier, we can do anything together. Even if we do get separated, we will always find our way back to each other.”

 

He held her hand in his and pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head. The gesture was so sweet, Jemma felt a rush of love for Fitz as she tilted her head up to look at him. Fitz gazed into her eyes for a moment before leaning in and kissing her on the lips. The kiss was sweet and tender, and Jemma returned it eagerly, but Fitz pulled back before she was ready to let him go.

 

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean… I was going to take it slow, at least go on a date first…”

 

“Fitz, it’s been ten years,” Jemma said. “We can’t waste any more time.”

 

“Really?” Fitz said.

 

The silly man actually looked surprised at the idea that she wanted to kiss him. Jemma was ready to demonstrate just how wrong he was, but he glanced away from her.

 

“Who needs space anyway,” Fitz said. “Cause I’ve got something magnificent right here.” Jemma felt herself melt at the lovely sentiment. The he continued. “This poster of space. One of my prized possessions, that is…”

 

“Okay,” Jemma said, and she shut him up with a kiss. Fitz tried to mumble something but she took the opportunity of his open mouth to let her tongue go exploring, and he reciprocated immediately. Mmm… she could taste her favorite mints on him.

 

Things heated up rather quickly. Somehow they ended up lying horizontally on Fitz’s bed, with Fitz on his back and Jemma on top of him. He was doing something wonderful to her breasts that made her moan, and he groaned when she sneaked a hand on his bum. A crumpled up paper ball landed on top of their heads.

 

“Guys,” Skye’s voice rang out from the next room. “I am really glad you finally figured things out, but _these bunk walls do not go all the way up to the ceiling_. Just, wait till you can go to a hotel or something, okay?”

 

Jemma paused. Fitz looked mortified but still aroused.

 

“I can be quiet,” he mouthed.

 

“I can’t,” Jemma said. “I am going to scream when you bring me to orgasm for the first time.”

 

“Simmons!” Skye yelled. “Too much information! Break it up now!”

 

With a sigh, Jemma rolled off Fitz. He looked completely scandalized and incredibly turned on at the same time. She decided it was her new favorite look on him.

 

“I will see you in the morning,” Jemma said. She straightened her clothing a bit before pressing a chaste kiss on Fitz’s cheek. “Sweet dreams.”

 

The lights were mostly off when Jemma stepped out of Fitz’s bunk. She could still see Daisy’s grin though.

 

“You missed a bra there,” Daisy said.

 

“Oh,” Jemma said. “Well I am sure I can get it back from Fitz in the morning. He could be careless about laundry but he’s very considerate of other people’s belongings. He always knows exactly how to find what he’s looking for. And where to put things. With those nice dexterous engineer hands of his…”

 

“Jemma!” Fitz hissed from behind his bunk door. “Stop talking!”

 

She could hear snickers from both Daisy and Skye as she ducked into her own bunk.

 

******

 

Jemma took a deep breath before she walked out of her bunk in the morning. Daisy’s makeshift bed was already put away. Jemma glanced around and saw that May, Daisy, and the other Jemma were all in the lounge, but there were no signs of others yet. They didn’t notice her, so she went to the bathroom first to perform her morning rituals. Feeling as fresh and ready as she would ever be, Jemma stepped out of the bathroom, made herself a cup of tea in the galley, and resolutely walked over to the lounge to get the teasing over with.

 

“Good morning,” she said. “How is everyone doing today?”

 

“Not bad,” Daisy smirked. “Did you get your bra back from Fitz?”

 

May didn’t change expression, but the other Jemma was surprised. “Wait, what?”

 

“Come on, are you really that shocked?” Daisy asked. “Remember the time I caught you and Fitz in the lab on the Zephyr?”

 

In the lab? Jemma was surprised, and a little curious, maybe very curious. She and Fitz have always maintained a pristine lab environment. She can’t imagine they would risk contaminating anything, but perhaps it would be fun with the proper precautions. She mentally filed the tidbit away.

 

The other Jemma was blushing furiously.

 

“We were only enjoying some alone time after getting engaged,” she said. “And you didn’t actually catch us in anything.”

 

“Only because I knew to knock whenever you two were alone behind a closed door,” Daisy said. “Seriously though, I had never seen Fitz blush that much. He couldn’t even look at me later when you were examining my neck.”

 

“Well that’s just Fitz,” the other Jemma said. “He’s always squeamish about the body.”

 

“Yeah,” Daisy said. Her tone changed. “He was squeamish, wasn’t he? Except when he thought he had to save the world from ending.”

 

The other Jemma froze. “Daisy…”

 

“It’s been strange,” Daisy said. “Seeing Fitz from the Bus. I heard him and Simmons talk science last night.” She nodded at Jemma. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening on purpose, but sound carried. I didn’t hear specifics anyway, just enough to know you two were trying to figure out that time machine so we can get back to our universe. And the first time this Fitz talked to me on his own, it was to ask if I needed help. That’s always been Fitz, trying to help people.”

 

“Yes,” the other Jemma said. “That’s Fitz.”

 

“And he won’t hesitate to do what he thought was right in order to help others,” Daisy continued. “Even if it meant taking a huge risk or hurting someone. I am not saying I agree with him, but it was still Fitz, wasn’t it? Not some evil mad scientist version of him.”

 

“He should have talked to you first,” the other Jemma said. “It was your body, your decision. But yes, it was Fitz.”

 

“We were in an impossible situation,” Daisy said. “Death followed me wherever I go. I don’t know what would have happened if he did ask me to undergo surgery, but I think I am starting to understand him a little better now.”

 

Jemma had no idea what Daisy and the other Jemma were talking about, but it was clearly emotional for both of them. Tears began to fall from the other Jemma’s eyes. Jemma put her arms around her counterpart.

 

“There now,” Jemma said. “Have a good cry. Let it all out. Whatever it is, we will get through it.”

 

The other Jemma’s sobs eventually subsided. May had walked away at some point and came back with several mugs of tea. The four women sat and drank their tea together.

 

Fitz walked into the lounge and froze. He glanced towards the other Jemma’s red rimmed eyes before looking at Jemma in a silent question. Jemma didn’t want to tell him. Whatever had happened in the parallel universe, it was not pleasant. Fitz would be horrified at the idea that any version of him could somehow hurt Daisy, even if it was to save the world. She tried to give him a reassuring smile.

 

“Morning Fitz,” Jemma said. “We were having a girls chat. Talking about boys. Did you sleep well?”

 

“You are a terrible liar,” Fitz said. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

 

“We were talking about you,” Daisy said. “The other you. He did some crappy stuff in order to save the world, and I was really mad at him. Seeing you now, well, it helped to remind me why he was my friend in the first place.”

 

“Does this mean you won’t punch Fitz when we find him?” the other Jemma asked with a weak smile.

 

“Oh I still might punch him,” Daisy said. “And there will definitely be yelling. But I don’t think I will go to a different team permanently. Maybe we will need some time apart to figure things out, but we are still a team.”

 

“Okay…” Fitz said. He looked bewildered, but Jemma was thankful to see that he didn’t appear too anxious. “I am sorry for whatever the other me did. Can I at least offer you breakfast?”

 

“Breakfast would be nice,” Daisy said.

 

They settled down to eat. Skye, Ward, and Coulson joined them eventually. As Jemma went to the galley to put away her dishes, Fitz followed her.

 

“So… I’ve been thinking,” he said.

 

“Yes?” Jemma smiled at him. It was the first time they were alone since last night. They were still visible to the lounge, but she wouldn’t mind a quick kiss or two.

 

“About last night,” Fitz said. “It was, um, really nice, but I want to make sure that we talk about things first, before…”

 

“Before we have sex?” Jemma asked.

 

Fitz turned bright red. She loved that look of combined mortification and arousal on him even better in the morning.

 

“Thing is,” he said. “We’ve been best friends for so long. Our friendship was a linear progression. We knew where we were going. Now we are heading into new territory, like a black hole. And… and I want to make sure we are going in the same direction.”

 

“Just to be clear,” Jemma said. “Are you comparing us sleeping together to crossing the event horizon?”

 

“I guess, yes,” Fitz said.

 

“That’s oddly romantic,” Jemma reached out and held his hand. “No separations, remember? We can do anything together.”

 

“Together,” Fitz smiled at her. “So you won’t leave me even if they throw section 17 at us?”

 

“Please,” Jemma said. “I’d like to see them try. Besides, we can always apply for an exception. They usually allow married agents to work together.”

 

“Jemma!” Fitz sputtered. “We haven’t even… at least let me ask properly when the time comes!”

 

“Fine,” Jemma said. “But for the record, I proposed first.”

 

“That didn’t count!” Fitz said. “I am going to propose first!”

 

******

 

Things progressed smoothly for the rest of the day. They found a white monolith in the storage rooms underneath the Lighthouse, and the components required for the time machine were all commonplace materials. As Jemma predicted, since her counterpart had successfully built the device once, the problem was simply recalibrating for the jump back. The other Jemma’s calculations appeared solid, and the only reason she and Daisy ended up here was due to someone accidentally knocking against the control module when they went through the machine. Really, they needed tighter lab protocols in the parallel universe. The other Jemma promised to implement better security procedures. In return, she physically marched Fitz and Jemma to the med pod and made them install additional canisters of oxygen. Apparently it was a required safety feature in her universe.

 

“It’s ready,” Fitz said. He stepped back from the machine and looked at the two visitors. “I hope you find him soon.”

 

“You _will_ find him soon,” Jemma said. She hugged both women. “It’s been wonderful, meeting you. Say hello to the other Fitz for us when you see him.”

 

“We will,” Daisy said. “Ready, Simmons?”

 

“Just one more thing,” the other Jemma said. “I can’t fix my regrets, but I can prevent others from having them.”

 

She pulled out an ICER and shot Ward in the chest.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Obviously, If Fitz had gone for a kiss in the lab, Jemma would be into it, but since he didn’t make a move then, NoChills! Excellent-at-Preparation Jemma was going to make sure their first kiss won’t be potato chips flavored. And that his nice dexterous hands were clean in case he touches something other than paper. 
> 
> \- Writer question: did you pick up the clues from chapters 1 and 3 that Future!Jemma had an ICER on her the whole time? I wasn’t sure if I was being too subtle or if readers saw the twist coming a million miles away.


	5. Jemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Warning: mentions canon character deaths
> 
> \- Spoilers: refers to season 5 deleted scenes

Jemma woke with a start. A giant monolith was there, melting and grabbing her before she could run away. Was it black or white this time? For a moment she thought she tasted sand in her mouth, or maybe it was the stale filtered air in space. Jemma forced herself to sit up and open her eyes. Oh yes, she did step through a monolith fragment, but this time it brought her back to the Bus.

 

“Hey,” Daisy said. Jemma haven’t noticed her walking over. “Bad dream?”

 

“Yes,” Jemma said. “I am all right now. Just needed a moment to reorient myself.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Daisy sat down by her hesitantly. “Not that I am the best example of how to handle losing someone, and I know Fitz has been a difficult subject for us, but I am still here if you need me.”

 

“Thank you,” Jemma answered. “It actually wasn’t about Fitz. I was dreaming about the monolith.”

 

“Oh god,” Daisy said. “I am sorry for assuming. I didn’t even think about that even though I knew you’ve been through more with monoliths than any of us.”

 

“It wasn’t so bad before,” Jemma said. “Fitz was there when I came back from Maveth, and Dr. Garner helped me process a lot of it. We were too busy surviving in space for me to even dream about monoliths. When we came back from the future and went out in the sunlight, I was hopeful. For a moment I was quite thankful for the white monolith. Then came the explosion and the monoliths literally became all of our fears.” She paused and took a deep breath.

 

“I lost my head a bit then,” Jemma continued. “I was worried the fear dimension would spread beyond the Lighthouse, and it would cause the end of the world. Fitz comforted me, promised me… promised me that he would never have a life without me. I wondered, afterwards, if it was my fault. If I haven’t frightened him with the idea that the fear dimension was going to destroy the world, would he have taken such a drastic step?”

 

“Stop,” Daisy said. “You can’t feel guilty for everything that happened. We’ve both walked down that road before and it didn’t work out well for anyone. Fitz could take responsibility for his own actions. Besides, you two have always had science. If he didn’t think your fears were valid, he would have told you so to your face.”

 

“He would, wouldn’t he?” Jemma said.

 

“Sounds like your Fitz isn’t too different from ours then,” a new voice said.

 

Jemma was surprised to saw May standing in the lounge. Daisy made a startled movement.

 

“May,” Daisy said. “How much did you hear?”

 

“Just enough to know that you went through some bad things in the future but FitzSimmons would still argue over science,” May said. “Nothing that I wasn’t expecting.”

 

Jemma mentally retraced her conversation with Daisy, but she didn’t find anything too revealing. May did not seem inclined to question them as she went to the open area in the lounge and began her Tai Chi practice. Jemma and Daisy both stood up and joined her.

 

The three women finished the Tai Chi set in silence. Jemma put away her bed linens and they sat down on the sofa.

 

“Why did the other May teach you two?” May asked.

 

“I had trouble focusing after crap went down,” Daisy answered. “Wanted to learn some hate-fu, but you said this works better.”

 

May raised an eyebrow at Daisy’s word choice, then she looked at Jemma.

 

“I was stranded on an alien planet for six months,” Jemma said. “Officially, Dr. Garner suggested Tai Chi as a way to help with my post-traumatic stress disorder, and you were the obvious teacher. You helped me with weapons training too.”

 

“Officially,” May said. If she was surprised at the mention of her ex-husband, she didn’t express it. “And in reality?”

 

“We were both mourning a love that could have been,” Jemma said. “I was lucky. Fitz and I talked things through. We have wounds, but we healed, and we tried again. The other you and Dr. Garner didn’t have that chance.”

 

“I see,” May said.

 

The older agent’s expression barely changed, but Jemma had learned enough from the past several years to know she was rattled. On an impulse, Jemma reached out and put a hand over the other woman’s.

 

“In our universe, you eventually allowed yourself to accept love again,” Jemma said. “But you didn’t have enough time with him either. I don’t know whom you would have chosen if you had a chance, but please, don’t wait. You deserve happiness.”

 

May looked at Jemma’s hand on her own, then glanced back up. “Is Coulson dead?”

 

“Not yet,” Jemma said, trying to keep her voice steady. “We don’t know how much time he has left.”

 

“Thank you,” May said. “For letting me know.” She moved her hand and glanced away. “Our Simmons is coming.”

 

Jemma looked up. Her counterpart was walking towards them with a cup of tea in hand. Tea would be nice. A change of conversation topic was also in order.

 

Beside her, Daisy put on a lighter expression as well. Once the younger Jemma sat down and bided them good morning, Daisy went into teasing mode. Jemma returned the friendly banter, ready to lighten the mood. The past was ever present though, and Daisy surprised her by bringing up Fitz.

 

Jemma broke down. Daisy would be in her rights to never forgive Fitz. He hadn’t forgiven himself before he died. If only he could be here now, to hear that Daisy understood his motivations even a little bit. It was an impossible situation, and her husband had given up his friendships, his sanity, and his life to get them out of it.

 

Eventually, Jemma became conscious of her surroundings again. Her counterpart was holding her and muttering soothing words. May pressed a mug of hot tea into her hands. Daisy had held in the tears and passed tissues to her in silence. They all sat and drank their tea.

 

The other Fitz joined them and thankfully didn’t push for answers. As others came to the lounge for breakfast, Jemma tried to greet Skye and Coulson with cheer. She did her best to avoid looking at Ward. Everyone must have noticed her red rimmed eyes, but they kept the conversation flowing about mundane topics.

 

At some point, the younger Jemma and the other Fitz walked to the galley together with their empty dishes. Daisy and Skye grinned at each other.

 

“Twenty bucks that they start making out in the next five minutes,” Daisy said.

 

“Nah,” Skye said. “They are going to stand around blushing and stuttering for at least ten minutes first. Don’t know if I can throw that much cash around though. This independent contractor gig doesn’t really pay a lot, plus the boss has a hard line against side jobs.”

 

Daisy snorted. “You are severely underestimating how little restraint these nerds have once they figured out they have the hots for each other.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Skye turned towards Jemma. “Care to bet on yourself here?”

 

“I thought you didn’t want to wager money?” Jemma said. She couldn’t admit publicly that she agreed with Daisy’s estimate.

 

“How about we make it interesting?” Skye said. “If you win, I will tell you an embarrassing story that you can tease Daisy with. If I win, you tell me something about Daisy that I don’t know.”

 

“You are assuming I don’t already have plenty of materials to tease Daisy with,” Jemma said. She narrowed her eyes at the young hacker. “Are you, by any chance, trying to extract information from me about the future?”

 

“Of course she is,” Daisy said with amusement. “You shot a superior officer in the chest because you couldn’t lie, remember?”

 

“Come on!” Skye whined. “I know, time travel rules, but give me something. Are my parents cool? Do I have any siblings? Obviously I become a full S.H.I.E.L.D. agent at some point. Do I get to be a S.O. to other agents? Save the world? Have a hot boyfriend?” The young woman wiggles her eyebrows and sneaked a glance at Ward.

 

Jemma fought down a grimace. It was strange when she had to watch Daisy’s interactions with a simulated Ward in the Framework. Seeing Skye’s innocent flirting with Ward now was downright distressing.

 

“You are different from Daisy,” Jemma said. “The moment we all met in the Lighthouse, your paths diverged. Your past is the same, but what happened to Daisy might not happen to you.”

 

“Are you saying I won’t become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?” Skye said. She pouted at Ward. “I will be an awesome agent! Tell them, S.O.”

 

“You will get there someday,” Ward said. He stared straight at Jemma. “Simmons, you want to tell me what problems you have with me in the future?”

 

Oh, she must not have schooled her expression as well as she thought. Thankfully, this Ward only knew the Jemma as she was back on the Bus. He hadn’t even thought to ask her for weapons after Daisy voluntarily surrendered an ICER at the Lighthouse. Jemma still had her own ICER from Mack hidden in her clothing.

 

“You died,” Jemma said. The truth was the best defense. “An alien parasite took over your body and did horrible things while wearing your face. The last time I came face to face with your physical body, the parasite was telling me how much my dead ex-boyfriend cared for me before it killed him.”

 

Ward blinked. Skye’s mouth dropped open and closed. Coulson was stunned. May actually looked surprised.

 

“Okay…” Ward said after a moment. “I see why you might have a problem looking at me. You just said our future would be different though. The events in your universe won’t always occur to us?”

 

“Correct,” Jemma said. “I will never forget the look on your face before Fitz and I dropped to the bottom of the ocean. You can be sure that I won’t let it happen here.”

 

Daisy made a strangled noise beside Jemma. “Yeah, Simmons, we need to talk about how much we can tell them about the future? Coulson, we will have something for you after Simmons and I chat.”

 

“Sure,” Coulson said. “Just give me information I can use before you go back to your own universe. I am certain FitzSimmons would build the machine in no time. Oh look, they are kissing.”

 

Everyone turned to look towards the galley, where the younger Jemma and the other Fitz were snogging against the wall.

 

“Darn,” Coulson said. “I was sure the first place we catch them publicly would be the lab.” He pressed a hundred dollar bill into May’s waiting hand. “I suppose this means I need to talk to them about section 17 at some point.”

 

“Not if they apply for a marriage exception first,” May said. “Maria Hill and I have a two hundred dollar bet on it.”

 

******

 

Jemma was thankful to be working in the lab again after Daisy dragged her to the cargo bay for a long chat. It was really more of a soliloquy on Daisy’s part about time travel rules. Jemma managed to redirect Daisy’s attention to what they should actually reveal. With careful word choice in case of eavesdroppers, they agreed they have to at least warn Coulson about the upcoming Hydra coup without alerting Ward. Daisy went to the pilot’s cockpit to ostensibly clear her head with some peace and quiet. Jemma suspected the young woman needed May’s steady presence as she sort through her feelings about Jiaying and decide on how much to tell Skye.

 

A tablet beeped. Jemma looked at the display and saw her time machine simulation had finished.

 

“Bring the data over here,” the other Fitz said. He and the younger Jemma were working at the holotable. “Jemma and I think we have a pretty good prototype for your device. It’s sized to accommodate the monolith we found in the storage room rather than the fragment you used. I also made few adjustments to the vibration coils, should make them stronger so they can withstand more force.”

 

Jemma walked over and peeked at the design. It almost felt strange working with a holotable again after so long. “Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, this would be quite helpful. Fitz must have been short on titanium in the future to design the coils that way in the first place.”

 

“Fitz designed it?” the younger Jemma asked. “I thought you said he’s lost in space.”

 

“He is,” Jemma said. She blinked and took a steadying breath. “We were separated and I went to the future. Well, the future of another parallel universe, but I didn’t know it at the time. There must be multiple parallel universes. In one of them, we failed to save the world but designed a time machine so that another version of us could go back and try again. I based my design from what I saw in that future.”

 

“So you averted disaster and now you are looking for him,” the other Fitz said. “Wow, other me would be so upset to know that he missed saving the world.”

 

“Not too upset, I hope,” Jemma said. She had to remind herself to unclench her fists. The words came before she was conscious of them. “Fitz, if I, if Jemma, went to another universe and loved that universe’s Fitz, not realizing he wasn’t you, then she lost him and came back to you, would you be angry with her?”

 

“Wha… what?” the other Fitz asked. “Er, how different was the other one?”

 

“Everything was the same until we met in the future,” Jemma said with certainty, the answer she’d given in her own mind countless times. “I only had two weeks with him before I lost him and realized my Fitz was still out there.”

 

“Then no, your Fitz won’t be angry with you,” the other Fitz said. “You didn’t leave him for someone else. I mean, you, um, you kissed me when you thought I was your Fitz, but you haven’t looked at me like… like you are in love with me since then. We work well in the lab together. I can see you rolling your eyes at my jokes, and you finish my sentences almost as often as my Jemma does, but it’s all friendship. I am not the man you are currently in love with. If you can make the distinction with me, the alternate future Fitz must be practically the same man as your Fitz.”

 

“Oh,” Jemma said. She took a moment to process. “In a way I suppose I do love you. We still have ten years of friendship between us and I already loved my Fitz back on the Bus, I just didn’t recognize it at the time. You are right though, I am not _in love_ with you because you haven’t gone through everything in the last few years with me. I am as different from your Jemma as you are from my Fitz.”

 

“Yes,” the younger Jemma said, holding the other Fitz’s hand. “Fitz and I will go on our own adventures, and we will grow and mature together. Don’t worry. We will get you back so you can find your Fitz, then you can tell him all about us.”

 

“He will be so surprised,” Jemma said. She smiled. “He said once we were cursed. We’ve had so much separation and pain. You figured out you love each other much earlier than we did. I’ll tell him you are proof that the cosmos do want FitzSimmons together.”

 

“No regrets though?” the other Fitz asked. “You still want him even after everything?”

 

“I have one regret,” Jemma said. She remembered Fitz’s face as they stood in the med pod. His still body for nine days after. The self-loathing as he dealt with the aphasia. His shaking hands after he came out of the Framework. The look on his face as he realized what his brain had done before he cut into Daisy. “I will always love Fitz, but I wish he first showed me his feelings in another way. We were in a difficult situation and we saved each other, but the physical wounds for him went too deep.”

 

“We are lucky then,” the younger Jemma said.

 

“You are,” Jemma said. “And you will never go through what we went through. I will make sure of it.”

 

******

 

True to her word, Jemma prepared the young scientists as much as she could for their future. She made them install extra oxygen canisters in the med pod. Under the guise of explaining the white monolith, she gave them notes on the black monolith as a contrasting example, with details on its natural cycle and how to forcefully open the portal. She didn’t know if Daisy wanted to reveal Inhumans yet, so she could not explain Hive’s true nature, but she told them everything she could on how to avoid the creature and how to identify infection. Jemma didn’t know if she hoped the future would lead the younger couple to Maveth someday and let them rescue Will, or that they would never see the alien planet in their lifetime.

 

Later, when everyone gathered in the the Lighthouse as Fitz finished building the device, Jemma was still trying to find a way to insert warnings against the Darkhold into conversation. Coulson smiled at her.

 

“Simmons,” Coulson said. “Daisy already gave Skye an encrypted file that’s supposed to have everything I need to know about the Clairvoyant and Ian Quinn. You don’t have to talk around in circles anymore.”

 

“Oh,” Jemma said. She looked at Daisy. “Exactly what did you put on there?”

 

“Just the important bits,” Daisy answered. “Captain America, my parents, don’t let Trip touch the obelisk. Heck, don’t let Trip go into any weird underground caves in the first place.”

 

“Trip would have gone after you no matter what,” Jemma said. “A strict warning against touching the obelisk probably works better. It’s the reason why I told my counterpart about properties of the monolith rather than asking her to leave it unstudied.”

 

“Good,” Daisy said. “I just said to keep away from monoliths and to leave Lincoln alone. Have Robbie burn the book. Lock up all the gravitonium.”

 

“Why do I feel like I am getting the Clift Notes for five years worth of stories, instead of a single long report on the subject I actually asked you for?” Coulson asked.

 

“Sorry,” Daisy said. “I promise you that everything you need is in there.” The field agent stepped up and gave Coulson a fierce hug. “It’s good seeing you.”

 

“Yes,” Jemma said. “It’s good seeing you.” She embraced Coulson briefly, reminding herself that this wasn’t the leader she had said goodbye to. Not yet, anyway. She had no doubts that Coulson would keep the team together in the coming upheaval.

 

“It’s ready,” the other Fitz said as he stepped back from the time machine. He and the younger Jemma said their goodbyes. Other team members have already given them well wishes earlier.

 

“Ready, Simmons?” Daisy asked.

 

“Just one more thing,” Jemma said. “I can’t fix my regrets, but I can prevent others from having them.”

 

She pulled out an ICER and shot Ward in the chest.

 

“What the hell Jemma?!” Daisy yelled. She quaked away the bullets from Coulson and May. “We already gave them the information!”

 

“But they don’t know they have a traitor in their midst,” Jemma answered. “Skye wouldn’t think twice about decrypting the file in Ward’s presence. Or he might kidnap her before she could bring the information to the team, and the younger Jemma would find a fellow agent’s dead body in the storage room.”

 

“Alright, you have a point,” Daisy sighed. She looked over at Coulson and May, who still have weapons pointed at them. “Hey guys? Can we talk?”

 

“What the hell was that?” Coulson asked.

 

“Short version, Hydra is active and Ward is a double agent,” Daisy said. “I know it’s a lot, but if John Garrett was the one who took him in, then Ward is evil.”

 

“I get the double agent part,” Coulson said. “I am talking about the flying bullets or whatever the heck you did just now.”

 

“Oh that,” Daisy said. “So, yeah, I have superpowers now. Cool right?”

 

“You/I get powers?” Coulson and Skye asked at the same time.

 

“Focus, people,” May said. She had already handcuffed an unconscious Ward and took away his weapons. “How big is the threat and how long do we have to prepare?”

 

Daisy and Jemma exchanged a look. “Well…”

 

******

 

After the initial confusion, things settled faster than Jemma expected. The younger Jemma and the other Fitz trusted her. Coulson and Skye believed Daisy’s explanations. May looked pointedly at the ICER still in Jemma’s hand, “I wouldn’t teach you Tai Chi and train you in weapons if I don’t trust you.”

 

Jemma and Daisy gave the team as many details about Hydra as they could remember. Since they didn’t know how often Ward communicated with Garrett, the team had to move fast. Coulson raised an eyebrow when Daisy suggested May use her hidden secure line to communicate directly with Fury. The two senior agents would clearly have a talk about it later.

 

“Thank you for all your help,” Coulson said. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”

 

“We’ve been here for a day,” Daisy said. “And we’ve already got FitzSimmons together, took out Ward, and accelerated the fight against Hydra. I don’t know what else would happen if we stay.”

 

“You can always show me more of your powers,” Skye suggested.

 

“Sorry,” Daisy said. “It’s something you have to discover for yourself.” The Inhuman hugged the young hacker. “Just remember, you already have people who love you.”

 

Jemma embraced her counterpart as well. “Don’t ever lose hope. You will get through whatever comes next.”

 

“Same to you,” the younger Jemma said. “You will find him. I am sure of it.”

 

The other Fitz stepped up and hugged Jemma. For a moment Jemma closed her eyes and pretended she was back in her own Fitz’s arms again.

 

“You’ve been beside him the whole damn time,” the other Fitz said. “There might be some experience mismatch now with time travel, but he’s your Fitz and you are his Jemma. You will work it out.”

 

“We will,” Jemma said. She stepped out of his embrace and went to the time machine with Daisy. “Let’s do this.”

 

******

 

“Bloody hell!” Hunter’s voice was the first thing Jemma heard when she regained consciousness. “Where did you go?”

 

Jemma opened her eyes. She was back in her universe’s Lighthouse as far as she could tell. The time machine stood at the other side of the glass wall. Mack, Elena, Piper, and Davis all stood gaping at her. Daisy was rubbing her temples and shushing Hunter. Deke enveloped Jemma in a giant hug.

 

“Don’t scare me like that again!” Deke said. He dropped his arms and pointed a finger at her. “Just because I won’t blink out of existence does not mean I want you to get stuck in the past. Can we please make it a family rule to never touch monoliths again?”

 

“I can’t promise you that,” Jemma said. “We need to know Fitz’s coordinates, and we didn’t get to where we wanted to go. I have to try again.”

 

“No you don’t,” Deke said. “That’s what I came to tell you. Hunter knows where Fitz is!”

 

“How in the world did you find Hunter?” Daisy asked. “Mack tried every channel he could think of. You don’t even know the guy.”

 

“Well I can listen,” Deke answered. “When you guys were asking Polly for details about this Hunter, she said something about him and Fitz having a Star Wars moment. I didn’t know the reference so I looked it up. Cool stories by the way, even if they get space totally wrong. Jemma said he rescued Fitz through some secret football fan messages. I saw on TV that they have this thing called advertisements. So I bought a giant ad in every British football stadium, and it said ‘Hey Princess Leia, Han Solo is looking for you.’”

 

“Yeah, don’t ever call me Princess Leia again,” Hunter interjected. “Anyway, I was keeping my head down since I didn’t know if the messages were really from Mack, but I figured only Fitz would be enough of a wanker to put up something like that. I found Deke and he explained everything, so here we are.”

 

“And you have Fitz’s coordinates?” Jemma asked. She could barely keep her voice from shaking.

 

“I can do better than that,” Hunter said. “Here’s a super phone that can call Enoch directly. I told him he had to give me a way to contact him before he took my mate off into space. Want to do the honors?” He pressed a cell phone into Jemma’s hand.

 

“Yes,” Jemma said.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- And season 6 goes from here. They found Fitz. Daisy and Jemma have taken the first steps toward processing their trauma and feelings. Everyone lives happily ever after! 
> 
> \- A short epilogue to wrap up the BusKids storyline, then we are done!


	6. Epilogue - FitzSimmons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy epilogue with no plot. Everyone except Ward is alive and happy! Background Philinda. 
> 
> Speculations of romantic Lincoln/Daisy, but you could choose to read it as romantic Trip/Daisy, romantic Robbie/Daisy, romantic Daisy/anyone, or platonic Daisy & anyone. The point is Daisy is happy.

Fitz yawned as he opened his eyes. It was too early for full consciousness, but he knew Jemma won’t stop poking his side until he at least made some sort of attempt to wake up. She did this every morning and always claimed it was a loving caress that wasn’t meant to disturb him. They both knew the truth. 

 

“Five more minutes Jemma,” Fitz said. He rolled to his side and tucked an arm around her. Jemma had a weakness for cuddling with what she called ‘sleepy Fitz.’ If he played his cards right, he could distract her enough to stay in bed for another ten minutes.

 

“Fitz,” Jemma said as she snuggled into his arm and started kissing his neck. “Fitz, wake up.”

 

Mmm… was cardio activity on the agenda? He could let her convince him to wake up for that. A considerate husband would always be attentive to his wife presenting her arguments. 

 

“Fitz,” Jemma said again as she pressed a kiss below his ear. “We really do have to get up.”

 

“Oh?” Fitz smiled at her. “Why? What do you have in mind?”

 

“The sunrise of course,” Jemma said. “Remember? You said we should watch the sunrise together today. We don’t want to miss it.”

 

Ah yes, the sunrise. Jemma kept insisting she was perfectly fine after she came back from Maveth. It had taken Dr. Garner a while to get her to even admit that six weeks on the dark planet had made her miss sunshine. Fitz made a point of watching the sunrise with her after every sleepless night while the nightmares persisted. It had been a long time since she last had a dream about Maveth, but they still liked to greet dawn together when they could. Life had kept them busy lately. They’ve barely had a moment of free time. Yesterday they had finally finished the latest Zephyr upgrade, and he had suggested they could pick up the old habit this morning. 

 

Mumbling in acknowledgement, Fitz made himself leave the warm bed. He put on a pair of jeans and buttoned a cardigan over his T-shirt. Jemma dashed into the en-suite briefly and emerged looking way too bright and fresh for the hour. Fitz went into the en-suite to take care of his bladder, then he decided to brush his teeth as well. Neck kisses were nice, but his chances of other kisses would improve greatly if Jemma didn’t have to smell his morning breath. He came out of the bathroom to find Jemma dressed in his hoodie and thick leggings. A quick glance at the clock showed that they still have plenty of time before the sunrise. Holding hands, they left their bedroom and walked towards the upper levels of the base.

 

They came across May in the hallway. She was dressed in gym clothes and held two mugs in her hands. 

 

“Good morning!” Jemma said. “Did you just finish Tai Chi?  I really need to join you more often.” 

 

“You’ve been running late hours at the lab,” May said. “Catch up on sleep first, then you are always welcome to join me.” She nodded in Fitz’s direction. “You too, Fitz.”

 

“Er, thanks,” Fitz said. He did not plan on ever waking up at five in the morning to exercise, but he knew Jemma enjoyed her Tai Chi practice with the older agent. He looked longingly at the mugs in May’s hands. “Is that tea? I can always take one if you made too much.”

 

“This is my tea,” May raised one cup. “And the coffee is for Coulson.”

 

“He’s awake already?” Fitz asked in surprise. Coulson had came back late from a long meeting with General Talbot last night. Fitz thought the director would need to catch up on sleep too. 

 

“He woke up when I left the room,” May answered. “Stayed in bed though. Said it was too difficult to go out in the cold.”

 

“Oh,” Fitz said. He knew May and Coulson have been seeing each other, but he didn’t really want to think about them in the same room, much less the same bed. “Yeah, it’s always hard to get up on a cold morning like this. I am sure you will help him though.”

 

May and Jemma both  _ looked _ at him. 

 

“Not like that!” Fitz squealed as he replayed his remarks in his brain. “Hard as in difficult. Difficult to get out of bed. I am sure he has no problems getting up, or hard, or need your help. Okay, Jemma please stop me before I try to say anything else.”

 

Jemma took pity on him. She smiled brightly at May. “We will be going now. See you later at the morning debrief?”

 

“Yes,” May said. “Coulson wants to hear your report on the abandoned Hydra facility. You didn’t find anything?”

 

“We found something,” Fitz said, glad to be back on a less embarrassing topic. “Hydra’s mad science experiment. The idea was to infuse a human with some rare element to give the person superpowers. Good thing we locked up all the gravitonium years ago. Simmons and I disabled the machine for now. We can dismantle it completely after the report.”

 

“Good,” May said. “We don’t need any more mad science experiments. Our last run-in with Radcliffe was enough.”

 

“Poor bloke would do anything for love,” Fitz said. “Building a virtual reality for his ex-girlfriend’s consciousness and a robot that looked like her though? Definitely not the right approach. At least he wasn’t really successful with either attempt.”

“No,” Jemma agreed. “May and I both knew immediately the robot was not a real person with the way it talked. I was quite surprised. Given how strongly the other Jemma and Daisy warned us against the Framework and LMDs, I expected something much more sophisticated.”

 

“Maybe Radcliffe had help in the parallel universe,” Fitz said. He checked his phone for time. “We should go, Jemma, or we are going to miss the sunrise.” 

 

They said goodbye to May and hurried down the hallway. As Fitz and Jemma turned a corner, they saw Daisy in the kitchen, making herself breakfast after Tai Chi practice. She was smiling into the phone pressed up to her ear. A snippet of the conversation reached them in passing. “Who says I miss you? Maybe I just miss having a sparring partner that I can beat… You are on, we will definitely have a rematch when you get back. Loser buys winner dinner?”

 

Fitz wiggled his eyebrows at Jemma as they continued to walk through the upper levels of the base. “Sounds like things are going well with Lincoln then.” 

 

“Lincoln?” Jemma asked. “I thought Robbie was flirting with Daisy the last time we saw him. Or maybe it was Trip? He’s away on that mission with Bobbi and Hunter right now, and Daisy has always been close to him.”

 

“You can’t really have a relationship with someone who’s off in another dimension all the time,” Fitz pointed out. “Trip is cool, but he seemed content to stay friends with Daisy and didn’t want to go further. Lincoln now, she was intrigued by him even back when she was still Skye, and he was definitely interested in her too. If the other Daisy didn’t leave such strict instructions to leave Lincoln alone, our Daisy would have jumped him immediately after the whole Afterlife episode.”

 

“That would have been a mess,” Jemma winced. “It took Daisy a long time to be comfortable with her heritage and powers. Lincoln was in no better shape after his faith in Jiaying was shattered and Inhumans were revealed to the world. They couldn’t add a new romantic relationship on top of all their own issues.”

 

“Exactly,” Fitz said. “I think that’s why the other Daisy said S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot bring Lincoln in until ‘all the monolith and Maveth and Hive crap are dealt with.’ She must have wanted to give him processing time. I am glad Lincoln decided on his own to join S.H.I.E.L.D. though. He and Elena make a great team alongside Mack and Daisy. Plus he’s a good friend.”

 

“You say that because Lincoln agrees with you on making grand romantic gestures,” Jemma said. “I still can’t believe he actually helped you on that ridiculous lighting display on our anniversary. You could have burned the base down!”

 

“Please,” Fitz said. “You really think a rocket scientist and a guy who literally controls electricity couldn’t put up a little light show without fire hazard?”

 

“Little?” Jemma snorted. “Fitz, you strung up lights over the entire base and had them blink in Morse Code for 24 hours.”

 

“Well I couldn’t do it in the lab because the lights might interfere with your sample cell growth,” Fitz said. “Our bedroom didn’t have enough space. It’s not my fault that it took a lot of lightbulbs to spell out ‘Will you marry me again’ in Morse Code.”

 

“It was longer than that,” Jemma smiled at him. “I thought the exact line was ‘We’ve survived an attempted Hydra takeover together, you carried me up from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, I found you in space using an alien monolith. A love like that is stronger than anything. Jemma Simmons, will you marry me again?’”

 

“Well,” Fitz said. “You can’t blame a man for wanting to make the proposal right. Especially since we were in a hurry the first time around. I want to do it properly now that things are calmer.” 

 

“Oh Fitz,” Jemma said. She tightened her hand on his. “I don’t need grand gestures. We are together and it’s the only thing that mattered. Of course I’d marry you again any day.” 

 

“Good,” Fitz pressed a kiss into Jemma’s hair as they stopped in front of the window at the top of the base. “Because I don’t think our parents have forgiven us yet for not inviting them to the wedding. A vow renewal ought to make them happy.”

 

“We were in the middle of a Hydra coup!” Jemma said. “I just wanted to be married to you and there wasn’t time for a grand wedding. Besides, I thought having Coulson officiate was perfect.”

 

“Marrying you at any time would be perfect,” Fitz said. 

 

He put an arm around Jemma and she leaned into him. They stood side by side before the dark window, waiting for sunrise. After a moment of comfortable silence, Jemma spoke again. 

 

“Do you think she found him?” Jemma asked. “The future Jemma from the parallel universe?”

 

“Of course she did,” Fitz answered. “Why? You think they would do a second wedding too?”

 

“I am sure it would be lovely if they do,” Jemma said. “I just wish we have a chance to thank her somehow. She helped us so much. S.H.I.E.L.D. would have been blindsided by the Hydra uprising if she and the other Daisy didn’t warn us. We lost some good people, but the damage could have been far greater.”

 

“Scum like Ward still escaped,” Fitz grumbled. “We had him and Garrett in custody, but Agent Hand barely escaped alive because we didn’t have time to check the background of every agent trained by Sitwell.” 

 

“Yes,” Jemma said. “He didn’t do that much damage though, did he? Ward thought it would be ironic to drop us in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean because that’s what his counterpart did in the parallel universe, but we escaped with barely any injuries aside from your broken arm. Thank goodness the other Jemma made us install additional oxygen canisters in the med pod.”

 

“We escaped because you were stubborn and dragged my sorry self up the ocean with you,” Fitz said. He kissed the top of her head. “It wasn’t what I was thinking though. I would never forgive Ward for kidnapping you and trying to force you to work on the monolith. He couldn’t even give you a secure work space when you warned him that the portal was due to open! I spent weeks searching for him and when I finally did, he had the gall to tell me the monolith swallowed you. If we didn’t already have instructions on how to open the portal, I don’t know what I would have done.”

 

“You would have found a way to me no matter what,” Jemma said. “I would have to wait a little longer, that was all.”

 

“Not like you were idly waiting for me in the first place,” Fitz smiled at her. Jemma’s brilliance and perseverance still amazed him sometimes. “You had already hand calculated and mapped locations for the next several portal openings. If Daisy didn’t quake the monolith, you would simply step through the portal next time it opened.”

 

“It would have been more difficult than that,” Jemma mused. “Hive blocked us the first time we tried to get to a portal opening. If the other Daisy didn’t give us notes on the nature of his power, Will might have convinced me that Hive really was omnipresent and would trap us on the planet forever. Since I knew Hive had been trying to escape Maveth for centuries, it was obvious he didn’t know about the portal pattern. The difficulty was in disguising our movements so he could not anticipate our next escape attempt.” 

 

“You are Jemma Simmons,” Fitz said. “You could have done anything. I am glad we were able to get you and Will off that planet before any more time had passed though. The bloke had already been trapped there for years, and six weeks without you was more than long enough.” Privately, he was also a little jealous of the way Will looked at Jemma when he first met the astronaut. Fitz knew Jemma was committed to him, but he didn’t have to like the idea of someone else being the only man on the planet with his wife. 

 

“Definitely,” Jemma agreed. She snuggled further into his arm. “I don’t ever want to be separated from you again. Once was quite enough. I hope the other Jemma did find her Fitz and they stayed together from then on.”

 

“They are probably watching the sunrise together now as we are,” Fitz said. He looked into Jemma’s eyes. “We will always be together, no matter what.”

 

“Together,” Jemma said. 

 

Fitz knew the days ahead would bring more challenges. Their jobs as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mean they would always be busy protecting others. It didn’t matter. As he stood with Jemma and the first ray of sunlight shone through the sky, he knew they would always have each other. 

 

They kissed in the sunlight, welcoming another dawn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! This is my first multi-chapter fic. Thank you so much to everyone who commented. I really appreciate the feedback!

**Author's Note:**

> I am in love with all the time travel fics where Older!Fitz meets Younger!Jemma. Then I thought to myself, what if the Bus FitzSimmons meet up with post season 5 Jemma? Ship captains Skye and Daisy may compare notes too!


End file.
